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Ranjeet: the hot villain

When I drool over Ranjeet, most people say: “Are you out of your mind?” He is, after all, not a guy you’d take home to mom; but while I never care much for his onscreen deeds, I do love his style—and I think he is really handsome. Although hampered (as all of us were, who were wearing clothes then) by the gaudy fashions of the 70s (and the even more gaudy costumes of masala-heyday Bollywood!), he always manages to loom charismatically large. And what a career! He is in many many many of my favorite films from that era (and beyond), and they are always enhanced by his presence. When I see his name in the credits, I admit it: I let out a fan-girly squeeee.

Sleepy, sleepy bedroom eyes! Black curly hair! I mean, he looks good in pale yellow velour! Accessorized with a black scarf! Not just anybody could pull that off as a bad guy outfit, but Ranjeet does.

Sharmilee was an early film, and he played a ladies’ man with a thing for Rakhee’s “bad” twin. Talk about being off and running as an eve-teaser and a badmash! Shashi beats him up in the swimming pool.

Drenched and being scolded by his boss afterwards, he looks like a sad little bedraggled puppy. Awwww.

Can anyone lend dignity to a shiny powder-blue leisure suit? Well, no. But he almost does! And he’s one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable film (Bandhe Haath, a tragic waste of Mumtaz, Amitabh, Tun Tun and, well, Ranjeet).

He isn’t always just a cartoonish bad guy either; in Aap Ki Kasam he’s having an affair with Sanjeev Kumar’s wife, but he is also the one who finally tells Rajesh Khanna what an idiot he’s been for having no faith in Mumtaz. Yay! It was about time someone did!

I loved him as a dacoit in Phaansi (cut so tragically short for me). He reminded me in that film of another favorite film villain: Rip Torn in Beastmaster. I guess it’s the hair, and the shiny gold chest ornamentation, and the mind-boggling screen presence.

In Dharmatma, he and Sudhir wear matching outfits (I mean, come on!) but I still love (and kind of fear) him.

He’s subjected to a series of silly Sheikh costumes and still holds his own—even sharing screen space with fellow hot men Vinod Khanna and Shashi Kapoor—in Chor Sipahee.

Look at him! How could anybody retain credibility as a villain in that? But Ranjeet does!

I don’t watch a lot of 80’s films, but he shines in 1982’s Namak Halaal as the hapless son of Satyendra Kapoor, and he’s still good-looking (and much better dressed, too).

I could go on and on and on (some of you might say I already have!), but if you’re not convinced by now that Ranjeet is hot, you never will be.

Just look at him now (in last year’s Welcome) after nearly 40 years in the industry: he’s a handsome man “of a certain age” and he’s aging ever so gracefully. Good for you, Ranjeet!

There really isn’t!*

*Except for Pran, but Pran is really a category unto himself.

Edited to add: Thanks to Juanito’s comment and link below, I found this (I love this picasa gallery), and I now rest my case. If a filthy ashtray and a beanbag chair don’t take away (much) from his hotness, nothing will.

Hmmm…okay, though I’d never really thought of Ranjeet as hot. Am willing to concede that he can be not too bad at times *wink*. I personally think Prem Chopra makes for a very handsome villain too – esp. in stuff like Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan and Woh Kaun Thi. Maybe I’ll do a post on him!

I was just watching Woh Kaun Thi and thinking that *for once* Prem Chopra wasn’t creeping me out. Also I really liked him in Apradh, where he was really good as a bad guy who is torn between his love for his brother and his greed.

I usually find him repulsive though. I think it’s the fact that he never actually opens his mouth when speaking, but spits out his lines with his jaw clenched, plus I think he lost his looks by the seventies. Don’t know what it is, exactly…ah well. Too each his/her own!

Yup, Prem Chopra could be pretty creepy – I remember one movie in which he got an eye poked out because he raped the heroine. Gave me the shivers! Liked his acting in Teesri Manzil, though, and I thought he looked good as the daku in Mera Saaya too. :-)

Thanks for putting him on my radar. Ranjeet has marvelous clothing and accessories. I remember his athletic prowess in “Aap Ki Kasam” and how he jumped out of that window over the shrubs, or was that over a wall and into the window? Anyway, I still remember thinking. “Naughty, but HOT!” With a bad boy of that caliber, you may not want to take him home to mom, but you do have to may special arrangements to secretly see him, perhaps regularly, and on going over many many years. I would totally have a down low arrangement with him, yet deny it to my public. ;)
“Oh, Ranjeet, no, no, no, we’re just dear friends. I’ve know him for many years.” Then he’d meet me in the back in a fancy race car and we’d be off to some cool secret apartment, with a bar, hot tub, round bed, and scenic view. Wow, sorry memsaab, those pictures really go to me. I’ll leave now. Sukriya.

I love Ranjeet, in fact my grandad went to the same high school as him, and said he was one the shyest kids around! So i guess he got in the zone when he played the lecherous bad guys, I loved him and Sudhir in Dharmatma, they are wearing some of the sexiest crazy printed stuff, though my fave outfit was right at the end with the cowboy hat, and tight jeans!!

I especially like the fact that his name was Ranjeet in most of the movies he was in, just like Mac Mohan’s name was, um, Mac! One of his best outfit’s ever was in the Manmohan Desai classic ‘Suhaag’ in which he sported a pirate’s eyepatch – how did he get that eyepatch? You gotta watch the movie, trust me on this this one…

The matching character name to actor name is a hallmark of Hindi movies and I love it (makes it much easier to figure out character actors’ names!)…

I’ve seen Suhaag :-) Some of my favorite subtitle mishaps are from that film…plus I’m Manmohan Desai’s biggest fan/apologist! But I wish I’d remembered the eyepatch that you are reminding me of before I posted this, because—yes, he rocked it! *dhak dhak dhak dhak* sigh….

“The matching character name to actor name is a hallmark of Hindi movies and I love it (makes it much easier to figure out character actors’ names!)…”

Not always ;-). Remember Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi, where Dharmendra was called Jeetendra? But yes, if my memory serves me right, just about all the main characters in Teen Deviyan used the names of the actors who played them.

I agree with Banno, I hated him as a kid and I haven’t grown up as yet.
I was brought up with the motto never even to look at men like Ranjeet and this upbringing clings to me still.
But I have to admit, memsaab has succeeded in making dents in the walls.
Ranjeet…., nahiiin, kabhi nahiiiiiiin
……………………..
……………………

dustedoff: Heh, yes…it’s more a hallmark for the background/secondary actors than the main ones.

Banno & harvey: I guess it’s something I can be grateful for, that I don’t carry the baggage of childhood memories! :-) I am glad I can appreciate him now (he IS a really good villain too though, I don’t mean to take any of that away from him!)

Ranjeet! is definitely one of my all-time favorite big-time Bollywood baddies! I put him right up there on my list of smooth suave sophisticated supervillains/sidekicks/supporting (okay, that’s enough alliteration for now) actors along with Shakti Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Sujit Kumar, Narendranath, Mac Mohan, and Ajit… and plenty more that I can’t remember off the top of my head. But the one thing that separates Ranjeet though, IMO, is that his characters were more hands on (especially with the ladies), while the rest were more of the cerebral variety. I guess that makes him the best of both worlds for roles that required brains AND brawn.

And why oh why did I look at that pic posted by Juanito!? *shudder* Very disturbing. :-D

Dustedoff: That Dharmendra/Jeetendra thing had me laughing!! I enjoy when an actor’s character’s name carries across a bunch of movies: SRK – Raj or Amitabh Bachchan – Vijay. It’s a nice bit of interextualism. :)

LOL!!!! I am wondering if that yellow thing hanging on the bird statue’s wing are his bikini briefs :-) and I have to wonder what on earth (or who) compelled him to pose for this. And yet still—he’s hot.

Filmi Girl: You have not seen Suhaag?!?! You should not wait another second!

Memsaab your post is absolutely amazing, and I too found Ranjeet quite good looking in Sharmillee! Plus, just to let you know that last pic is I’m guessing a publicity shot for his 1986 movie “Aadamkhor”. In a interview (probably the one that goes with this pic) Ranjeet says “I have a good body so why should i not show it off” Apparently Ra has a nude scene int that movie, I have personally never gotten a hold of the movie or seen the scene, so I’m not sure if is true!

Nice review.I think nobody can’t think about villains.All reminds only actors and heroines.It’s not fair, because baddies have some important errands behind any successful film.Many many thanks for your uncommon writing.If possible Put some reviews on the great rogue Amrish Puri.

Memsaab: It is Ranjeet who sells the washing machines to Rani/Babli in “Bunty aur Babli” isn’t it? It’s confusing to see him speaking with sync sound. The dubbing is such an important aesthetic in the older movies.

AKM: Yes, I *heart* Ranjeet. Victoria 203 is a great film, I loved Ashok Kumar and Pran’s jodi in that one more than Saira and Navin Nischol’s. And I should watch Mahal again and write about it. I’m getting a craving for some 40s films again!

memsaab, you are funny. … nice guys do come last eh! :). He is a great villain though, no doubt. I would like to read your take on Pran and Vinod Khanna (they have played both type of roles). I am not sure if you have already written something.

Sometimes good guys come first satyansh! :) I have been planning a post on Pran for a very long time—he was one of my first loves in Hindi cinema along with Shammi and Helen! I think he was and still is so handsome, and such a great great actor. As I said at the end of this post—he’s a category all to himself, an icon in film history.

And I love Vinod Khanna too. He does hero, sidekick, villain—all of it just perfectly. And he’s v.v. good eye candy as well!!!

I agree, Pran is one of the best actors of all time. We have had so many great ones – Guru Dutt, Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar (what a genius he was), Rajesh Khanna (bawarchi, anand mode), Amitabh Bachchan, etc. I look at Shammi Kapoor as an Indian rock star – he is unique and cool. Actresses, well I like them all ;).

I saw one of Ranjeet’s interviews a few years back where he spoke about his first movie where there is a scene of him getting married. And Ranjeet reminisced that his village/town people celebrated ‘the wedding’, and his parents just said something equivalent to, so what if this is not a real marriage, but we must celebrate his screen wedding! So much for the people of Punjab!!

I was a regular reader of Star & Style, Cine Blitz & Blitz (tabloid) in the 70’s and 80’s. I remember having read once in Devi’s Cine Sizzlers (later-on rechristened as Frankly Speaking) that Ranjeet was an irresistable charmer in those days; and was the “Secret Lover” of Babita in the days of her marital discord. There was also a mention in Devi’s column that Babita got tired of Randhir’s waywardness, and spent a whole night at Ranjeet’s pad (perhaps to cause anxiety around). But otherwise, Ranjeet was considered a gentlemen.

I have a bunch of 70s Stardust magazines, which say also that he was involved with Simple Kapadia at the same time as he was living with a long-time girlfriend named Pushpa or something. I think he eventually married the suffering girlfriend although I am not sure if she is his current wife or not.

Ahhhhhhhhh! Ranjeet, *sigh* thanks for reminding me of him. Though I admire and aspire to moral values, with Ranjeet I’d have to lower my standards and sit down and tell Pushpa something like this, “Dekh didi, I know what you’re going through, but Ranjeet is different from the other men. He’s simply too hot to pin down with one woman, even in your very chaste Hindustan. What he’s doing isn’t necessarily being unfaithful, it’s just inevitable. So you can have your sizzling hot Ranjeet under current conditions, or walk away.” And she’d have to stay, because he’s so mindblowingly hot! Furthermore, in a court of law, Babita’s overnight naughtiness with Ranjeet would never be taken as infidelity in a court of law, because the judge and jury would all agree and rule something like this, “Dekh, Normally what Babita-ji did would be considered shamful and disgrace your family honor. Of course Randhir-ji, you have the God given right to roam since you’re a man, but we digress. ;) So Babita-ji is not wrong, since it was Ranjeet who caused her to stray. Under the influence of Ranjeet, women are completely powerless, so we must throw this case out of court!”

My own personal American Ranjeet called me a couple times yesterday, but I ignored the calls, since it’s best to forgo his Ranjeetness and remove temptation…but now this post, coincidentally comes today…is that a sign…where’s my phone…gotta go! ;)

I just saw this post and I never thought I’d agree with ANYONE who said Ranjeet was hot, leave alone handsome. And yet, in the first pic in the yellow velour… he *is* kinda hawt… oh dear this blog is dangerous.

He’s innately hot Pitu, so his hotness was so essential to his being that it perhaps took you some time to sort it out as one of his qualities. Overwhelmingly hot. BUt with all due respect to memsaab, I won’t mention my night with Ranjeet in the hotel in Agra. Technically in was me in the hotel aur Ranjeet on the hotel’s television, lekin skill= Ranjeet + me in hotel. I actually in real life (have to add ‘real life’ since so much of my time is lost in movies, books, day dreaming, etc..) have a friend who has done that over the years: A guy I liked for some time (unknown to him/unrequited type of thing) and she’d know it, pretend to forget and mention, “You know I never noticed hot cute _____ is! I should talk to him.” Not that you’re doing that Pitu. ;)

…Film
– Humse Hai Zamana ,The way Zeenat Aman seduces him and he is just
totally mad for her hehe. He is a womaniser, but his total and honest passion and worship for women beauty (unlike villain who harass people or girls for some other reason like revenge or money or social issues etc,
Ranjeet is truly smitten by them) , his madhoshi, makes him desirable. He is a raw hot blooded male.

Sex and desire and passion, is always considered forbidden and supposed to be associated only with marriage and love, fine, but SEX OR SEXINES, UN ADULTERATED, PURE, HONEST, OBSSESSED, INDEPENDENT , OFFERS A BEAUTY OF ITS own KIND, MASTI AND HIGH…WHEN YOU EAT SOUP WHAT ARE YOU DOING…SIN OR SAINTLY ACT…NOTHING…JUST IN BETWEEN…so its something beautiful which is neither good nor bad…its pleasure fullstop and its high, its enjoyment and its beauty. SEX , SEXINESS, HOT PASSION, when not adulterated by social expectation and sometimes free even from romantic compulsion , where both the adults consent or when we purely appreciate and fall for the male or female beauty, charm and attraction is the pleasure, high and enjoyment of life and its a very beautiful facet and has to have a place of its own without always being dependent on love or marriage…mark the word ALWAYS…i am not against love, in fact love is the sacred most emotion of world…but why cant sexiness be honest and have a place of its own without being dependent on marriage and all that social crap.

Ranjeet was a passionate and dashing person, very honest and original..never artificial plus his worship for and weakness of females and woman beauty…his dangerously intoxicating sexy looks gets intensified by sexiness of his soul which is honest and independent of prejudice: sex, pleasure, desire, fun, high…pure and unadulterated…

I HAD ALWAYS FELT ATTRACTED TO RANJEET AND FOUND HIM HOTT AND DESIRABLE..ALMOST TO A POINT OF WEAKNESS, I WISH I WAS BORN YEARS BACK AND WAS YOUNG IN SEVENTIES WHEN HE WAS IN HIS FULL JALWA…RANJEET’S JALWA IS KILLLING…!! I would marry him if i could only if he wasn’t more than my father’s age unfortunately.

He is a erotic revolution…no need to bind him within the false premises of social rules, he is too hot and honest for that, and too original. His passion cant be supresed by superficial social restrictions or middle class moralities.

AND HONESTLY MANY THANKS FOR THE POST. GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE, EVEN MY CHOICE IS BIT DIFFERENT AND I THINK IN SAME LINES, I FIND RANJEET DANGEROUSLY ATTRACTIVE …I MEAN IN A WAY MADDENING…BUT PEOPLE WERE LIKE OF ALL THE PEOPLE, RANJEET? GLAD THAT I FOUND SOMEONE ….GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE ;-)

And Sitajee, thorughly loved your post, he was too hot, both by soul and maleness and even looks a man to lead the usual married man pinned with one woman kind of thing. agree with everything you said . Uhh I wish i had a time machine, i will flee to the seventies just now to be in Ranjeet’s arm s hehe…and you too and Memsaab can come too, no competition or fighting, in ranjeet’s world everything is cool and beautiful, including his gfs and women.

It was a shock to read about Babita and Ranjeet. Never heard this one. I know that Ranjeet had married a starlet called Aaloka who debuted in a movie that had Ashok Kumar and Pran (trying to recreate the magic of Victoria 203) , i am not sure but think, it had shekar suman in it.
Ranjeet is more of a businessman than an actor; i think he has a palatial bungalow in Mumbai, which was because he invested wisely ; he debuted with actress Rakhee in “Reshma Aur Shera”. He produced only one movie in his lifetime called as “GHajab Tamasa” which had the hit pair of Ashiqui. Considering he must have paid them (Rahul Roy-Anu Aggarwal), he broke even. This movie was released in the summer of 1991.
But I do not think he is the Casanova that he is made out to be.
The general perception was that he was more of a gentleman, I do not know what went wrong with pushpa.
as he iinvested wisely he managed to survive even when roles dried up.

I finally got brave enough to come back and look at this post again. That last pic scares me because I think those are his undies dangling on the statue to the left of shot and that is not something I need to have seared into my brain. But he did have a way with the pastel leisure suit.

AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR DEAR RANJEET UNCLE, ITS PRIVELGE feeling writing to yourself,though personaly I feel that hand written notes are more closer to heart,and this medium is quite new(I POD) to me,But I hope I will be able to share personal sentiments via this medium too. Long Long ago it was winters of 1972(OCT),as seven year old, class second std.student I have just begun to understand that two plus two is four,just then VICTORIA NO.203 had released,this is more or less first impersion of yourself and from there on to early ninetees it was long journey,when yourself took self exile,and more or less I almost quit watching movies,as sensebilites had fallen to such low,that barring few,you better not waste time/energy/and sensibilties on them.From 1972 onwards if I do remember that yourself was intergral part of Ninety percent of movies,working with not one but seven superstars of those times in no less achivement by name,(DHARAM uncle,RAJESH uncle,AMITuncle,JEETU uncle,FEROZ uncle,VINOOD uncle,AND ABOVE ALL. SUNIL DUTT uncle,and RAAJ KUMAR uncle very few,or only DANNY uncle(whom I Believe is yourselfs extended brother) have had this privelge,not to forget that DUTT saab being yourselfs mentor,This is remindes me that yourself being intergral part of Manmohan Desai,Parkash Mehra,Feroz khan,Dutt Saab and so many others,unfoturnately most of them had gone to another world,,I will yourself two examples which by itself the bond that one had during gone days,First one is FEROZ uncle somewhere around 1980 infilm mag.he wrote,To we brothers(KHANS)RANJEET and DANNY are our extended brothers,it should be more than acoincidence that both LAILA and FARDEEN were born when three movies(kHOTE SIKKAY jan 1974,DHARMATMA may 1975,and KALA SONA sep1975) and ZAAYED when CHANDI SONA mar 1977,and ABUDDLAH may 1980 was shot.The second one was by SANJAY DUTT paji and he wrote in1982 that to me Ranjeet uncle is goli uncle,even keeping apart that daddy discovered goli uncle,I have in since I below age of ten,and it should be more than mere coincidence,that in my first apperance as child artist in RESHMA aur SHERA goli uncle was in it,and again when as hero ROCKY 1981it too had my goli uncle in it,even when I when I grow up get married have children,to me he will always be my goli uncle,I donot think this kind of attachments might be there nowdays in Industry nowdays.Hereby I will also mention that two roles in specfic even today at age of fourty seven sends shivers in my backbone and they are DHARMATMA may 1975,and MERI AAWAZ SUNO oct 1981,and in entire career of yourself only one comic outing BUNNDALBAAZ june1977,which even today(thirty six years after its release gives one day laughfter)as and when we see it.We,our genertion which grew up watching yourself still miss you.RAVINDER MINHAS,JALANDHAR CITY,PANJAB.minhas35@yahoo.com.

yep ranjeet!!!….gopal bedi is his real name… very innocous , ranjeet has a devilish twang to it….he isnt your classy villain like prem chopra, pran… i mean he is the perpetual dacoit, gypsy,vermin from the lower strata!!….but like all grt villains, when ranjeet appears on screen you know he is upto no good!….loved him in sharmilee and sawan bhadon, his first movies…while the main villain of those movies narendranath faded away, ranjeet went from strenght to strength….lookswise also he is not your archetypal punjab da puttar…. has a dusky almost south indian/ malayali feel to him…

Memsaab, have to thank your reviews for my newfound interest in Ranjeet.
Just watched ‘Rajput’ which fits all your requirements: directed by Vijay Anand, and has so much HOTness with Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Rajesh Khanna (slimmer and georgeous, romancing Hema and showing great chemistry) and of course, Ranjeet who plays a very mature and impressive Rajasaab (plays Tina Munim’s father and still manages to go after Hema and Ranjeeta :)

In Continution to my earlier comments on 20-4-2013,an open Letter to our dear RANJEET ,though I remembered but forgot to mention two more movies in which our dear RANJEET was terrifing best,in addtion to DHARMATMA (MAY 1975)and MERI AAWAZ SUNO (OCT 1981) and they were VISHVANATH (FEB 1978)and not forget HOTEL(FEB 1978) directed by Tulsi/Shyam Ramsay,the entire movie was based on our dear RANJEET uncles role and gave such strong performance,with rejoined him with NAVIN NISCHOL uncle,and RAAKESH ROSHAN uncle,and was hit,the entire movie stood on strong shoulders of dear RANJEET uncle.RAVINDER MINHAS,JALANDHAR CITY,PANJAB.minhas35@yahoo.com.

Finally some justice for Ranjeet and myself by extension. I grew up in a family of prettiness and movie stars beauty. My brother was six four and was a combination of Amitabh and Vinod Khanna. My oldest sister is a death ringer for Mumtaz ,she was called the Kabuli Mumtaz. My other brother looked like Navin Naschel ,me the black sheep of the family was teased through out my childhood as looking just like ,wait for it Ranjeet! Yes I look like him a lot but with lighter complexion. I hated it. Imagine looking like a villain who got beaten up in every movie. And always a rape scene. Even after we settled in America any girl friend would be shown a scene as way of teasing but I secretly resented it. That is until I discovered ladies really liked Ranjeet and to my shock many consider him better looking than the leading actor. Well,that has explained why I have always done better with the opposite sex than my brothers. Plus I have always maintain a physic like the Ranjeet of younger years. Here is to you ,the great Ranjeet. I am going to share this site with all my sisters and cousins who have mercilessly teased me all these years!

I am currently watching Dharmatma second time. I love this movie, especially Feroz Khan. I never really cared about him before watching this movie (the first time). After that I watched his home production movies (Qurbaani & Jaanbaaz) and found it very well done. I also loved Rekha, she did complete justice to her character. I found Hema Malini did good, but her make up and dressing style helped her become a stylish icon, instead of acting. The songs are awesome;)